


One choice can change many paths

by JellyChime



Series: Whispering Butterfly [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Just bare with the beginning, This is basically an au where instead of Lee finding Clementine it's James, Will start kinda similar to the game but afterwards it'll change a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-10-29 21:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17816252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellyChime/pseuds/JellyChime
Summary: James and his father were on a road trip before the outbreak began. By some twisted luck they found their way to Georgia, where James makes a fateful encounter someone who was left behind. With the world they knew beginning to crumble into ashes and flames before their very eyes, they have no choice but to go looking for a place that will keep them safe.((This is an AU version of Clementine's story if James had found her before Lee did. It will vary a lot from the canon story in many ways. Also, this is my first story here on this site so sorry if it's bad))





	1. Chanced meeting

The recently turned twelve year old boy rubbed his tired eyes as he and his father, a man named Oliver, sat in the truck, a plain beige backpack containing his scrapbook, pens, polaroid camera and many other things sat safely between his legs as he looked outside. His focus shifted from the trees to a random sign that his father would pass by, telling them how close they were from the next destination in their little job/road trip to Georgia.

James blinked a few times, trying to fight off the sleepiness he felt at the moment. “How much longer…?”. He asked his father, letting out a yawn as he did so. The adult chuckled. “We’re almost there, but you’re free to sleep until I’ve got everything set.”.

“But I’m not tired…”. The preteen muttered, looking at his father. He was a rather tall man, light skinned with brown hair. It was clear that James got his looks from his mother’s side of the family.

His father gave an amused glance at his son, smirking. “Really now Buddy? You sure you don’t want to sleep for a bit longer? Growing boys need to rest you know.”. James huffed, looking out the window again. “Suit yourself.”.

As the truck kept on moving however James found it increasingly harder to stay awake. Coming to think of it maybe he shouldn’t have tried to stay up so late last night, especially knowing how long the trip to Georgia would have been. But he couldn’t help it, he just wanted to watch the stars. 

Before he knew it his brown eyes had fluttered shut.

But then after what felt like just a minute to the boy, he was thrown forwards, the strap of his seatbelt kept him in his seat but also made almost all the air in his small body escape his lungs, thus he started coughing and gasping for air.

James heard a faint ‘Oh shit’ from his father before feeling a hand on his shoulder. “James? Buddy? Are you okay?”. The adult asked, the preteen took a deep breath before he nodded in response.

His father sighed in relief before looking up ahead. “Sorry about that Bud, some idiot just sped through. It would have hit us if I didn’t stop.”. He explained, the boy merely nodded in understanding.

James looked out his window again, deciding against going back to sleep incase someone else decided to try and break the sound barrier with their cars. “W-where are we now?”. He asked. 

“Well, we’re in Georgia.”. The adult said, smiling, right before having to suddenly stop the car again as another driver just sped through, along with police cars. “Looks like something’s going on here…”. 

The man then glanced at his son. “Think we should go somewhere else for the day? We can come back later when this is all settled.”. He asked, James thought for a moment, looking out the window where he could have sworn that he saw some odd… person? Just on the other side of the road, it limped, like it was hurt but it’s skin was so green and rotten.

“W-we… we should go…”. James muttered, looking away from the person. His father nodded as he stepped on the gas and drove off.

...

It took a couple of more hours of driving, so James decided to sketch in his scrapbook to pass the time. He couldn’t get the weird person out of his mind, and so that was what he drew. A human looking creature, but rotten, mouth hung open and in a pose that made it seem like it was a puppet on a string.

Satisfied with his art piece, James placed his book back into his bag, going back to looking around where he noticed that they were nearing a small neighbourhood. “Hey dad, can we stop there?”. The twelve year old asked, pointing to the direction he wanted them to go.

Oliver looked out and smiled. “Sure thing Bud.”. He replied, turning the truck to the new destination. The twelve year old smiled as he dug through his backpack and took out his polaroid camera.His father noticed and chuckled.

“If you’re planning on taking pictures make sure you don’t get into any trouble like last year.”. He reminded his son. James sighed, but nodded anyways, he couldn’t argue with his father after all.

Once they reached a good place to park, Oliver stopped the truck. James instantly pulled his seatbelt off, jumping out of the vehicle and stretching. He’d been sitting in that truck for hours, it was good that he could finally walk around. 

“Can I go explore?”. The excited preteen asked his father, who had a skeptical look on his face. “I don’t know… You sure you can be okay on your own?”. 

James huffed. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, I just want to look around and take pictures!”. He replied, taking his backpack out of the truck. “Please Dad?”.

Oliver glanced at his son, then around them before he sighed. “Okay but one two conditions.”. He said, walking into the kitchen area of the truck and coming out a minute later with a neatly wrapped up sandwich. “First condition, if anything and I mean ANYTHING happens out there, you come back immediately. Okay, I want you to be safe.”.

“And second condition…”.He said, handing the food he prepared for his son. “Make sure you eat something.”.

James looked at what his father had handed him before putting it in his backpack and putting it on. “You’ve got it!”. He replied, waving at his father as he ran off though the small neighbourhood.

...

Minutes passed as James went through the city, he noticed something weird, the lack of people. It was about 2 PM, and it was the middle of summer. Usually by now the streets would be filled with children playing or neighbours talking. But no, there was no one out there other than himself.

He gripped onto his camera and waited to see if he could find anything he could take pictures of. He noticed a bird sitting on the the fence of someone’s house, yet decided against it considering what happened last time he took a picture of someone’s property. It was just the fence, but he didn’t want to get into any trouble.

As he was about to walk away though James heard a noise, he looked up, seeing a rather nice looking treehouse. Inside it there was a pair of amber eyes staring down at him. James tilted his head before he waved at the stranger.

“You have to hide!”. A child’s voice said, which made James more confused. “Hide? Why?”. He asked. The child just opened up the door to their tree house. “Come in!”.

Confused and honestly a little startled, James did as ordered, climbing over the fence and into the backyard of the house. Then he went up the ladder and into the treehouse. Once he was inside, he got a better look at the child. A little girl who was obviously younger than himself, darker skin, amber eyes, puffy dark brown hair that was partially pushed down by the hat she wore.

Neither spoke for a moment, before the girl decided to introduce herself. “I’m Clementine.”. She said. James looked at her, still pretty confused. “I’m James…”. He replied. “Now why did you say that I had to hide?”.

Clementine looked down, it was at that moment that James noticed how skinny the girl was. It wasn’t overly underweight, but enough to raise some red flags in the boy’s mind. Forgetting about his question, he took off his backpack, putting his camera back in and pulling out the lunch his father had given him to eat. Surely he wouldn’t mind considering the situation... right? 

“Here, you look like you’re starving.”. James said, offering the food to the poor girl who instantly took it out of his hands and started to eat. “When’s the last time you ate anything?”. He asked. 

The girl looked up at him, gulping down whatever she was eating. “Two… or three days…”. She replied. James frowned. “Why didn’t you eat for that long? Where are your parents? Shouldn’t they be feeding you?”.

“My parents are in Savannah.”. Clementine explained. “So they had Sandra babysit me… something happened and… Sandra told me not to leave the treehouse until she came back.”.

The preteen bit his lip as he looked at the girl. “Where do you think this ‘Sandra’ is?”. He hesitantly asked. Clementine thought for a minute before she replied. “I think she’s in the house. She was in there last I saw her.”.

James nodded, looking around the tree house. He noticed a walkie talkie and a hammer next to the girl. “What are those for?”. He asked.

“Oh, Sandra gave me these. The walkie was for us to talk while she was away. And the hammer’s for keeping myself safe.”. Clementine explained, before going back to eating. 

The preteen opened the door to the tree house as he peered outside to look at the house. He tried to see if he could spot signs of anyone in there. But there was nothing. Had… had this Sandra just left a kid on her own? James didn’t even want to think about that. 

He should tell his father about this. It felt wrong, very wrong.

Taking a deep breath, James started to exit the tree house. “W-wait! Where are you going?” Clementine called out. “I’m going to call for help.”. James replied as he climbed down. “Come down too.”. 

Clementine gulped before she shook her head. “I-I’ll call for Sandra again. Maybe she’ll answer this time!”. She said, a slither of hope in her eyes. James frowned but nodded, looking at the direction of the girl’s house. He needed to get his father here and fast. 

Hesitating, James walked to the house and slid the door open. The room was dark but a strange rotting smell instantly filled his nostrils, making him gag by pure instinct. The room was covered in red splotches, kinda like.... Blood? It was on the floor, the walls, even on the furniture.

James took another deep breath, this time is was shaky. “H-Hello…?”. He called out, but to no response other than a faint beeping from the other end of the room. “A...Anyone...?”. The preteen walked onwards, looking for a phone he can use. 

He followed the sound of the beeping, an answering machine. But no phone. Great, just his luck. He’ll check those messages later, but for now there was more important things to do.

“Sandra? Sandra are you there?”. James jumped when he heard Clementine’s voice, as if she was in the house. But she was still up in that tree right? How could he...? 

Instantly the preteen went over to the direction of the girl’s voice, heading into the kitchen where he heard the sound coming out of the drawer. James opened the drawer and sure enough, the other walkie was right there. 

Growling to himself, James took the walkie. “Clementine? Can you hear me?”. He called out. “J-James? Why are you-”. 

“Sandra didn’t even take this thing with her!”. James angrily replied, looking out the glass door and seeing Clementine outside, carefully watching from the safety of the tree house. “I’m in the kitchen, can you tell me where the phone is?”.

Faint groaning noises were heard, making the young boy jump in surprise and glance around the room. “It should be in the living room… Next to the answering machine...”. Clementine replied. James huffed, he really didn’t like where this was going, the sooner he got the phone and called his father or the police, the better. 

He decided to look into the other drawers and found a rather large knife. James grabbed the handle of it. If there was something dangerous, as the growling that started to grow in volume indicated, he should have something for self defence.

It was at that point that he heard her gasp and then shouting “LOOK OUT!”. James jumped and turned just in time to see some sort of monster lunging at him. The boy screamed and ducked way before trying to run out of the kitchen but slipping in something wet which James soon found to be blood.

Resisting his urges to vomit, James stood up, holding the knife in front of the creature. It was like that weird person he saw before coming here. But this one was female, messy hair, rotten flesh, the smell of death surrounding her. And those eyes, those vacant, soulless eyes that pierced into the twelve year old’s being. 

“S-s-s-stay-stay back!”. He shouted, trying to sound as threatening as possible. The monster didn’t listen as it pounced again like a hungry predator, James being its prey. Panicked, James dug the knife he took into the creature’s chest, gaining no reaction of pain from it. Instead it pinned him down, trapping him.

James tried to push the thing away, but it was a losing battle. It was stronger than him, yet he pulled the knife out of it’s chest, and tried stabbing it again, in the shoulder this time. Again no reaction.

He kept on stabbing over and over, hoping to have the thing just stop but it didn’t. Not until something hit it in the head. A hammer? The monster fell to the floor, groaning again and James saw Clementine gripping onto her hammer as tightly as she could. 

The monster got ready to attack once more but this time James was the one to strike first, jabbing the knife into its neck as it let out gurgled groans. Clementine slammed the hammer into its head once more and then the preteen pulled out the knife and stuck it into the monster’s head. Instantly all it’s movements ceased as it slumped to the ground. 

James’s eyes were fixed on the creature for a moment, panting. Did he really just do that? Did he just… kill someone? But it wasn’t his fault, that THING attacked him first. He had to do it.

“Are you okay!?”. Clementine called out, which made James look up at her. “I-I…”. The preteen couldn’t even talk out of how scared he was. He slowly stood up, shaking violently. 

James looked back at the dead body, then at Clementine. “We… We have to go…”. He spoke so softly that he could barely hear his own words. He stared at the girl, wide eyed in fear. “Y...your backpack… where it is?”.

“It’s in my room.”. Clementine replied. 

James nodded, pulling out the knife from the corpse’s head. He exited the kitchen, signaling for Clementine to follow, which she did. 

Back in the living room, James glanced over to the answering machine which was still beeping over and over again. The young girl noticed it too and went to it, carefully pressing the play button to see what words were left for her. 

The first message was of a woman named Diana, whom Clementine said was her mother, she said that Ed (Clementine’s father) was attacked by some ‘crazy person’. The second explained where her parents were, trapped in Savannah not allowed to leave. But she told Clementine and Sandra to go to someone named Marietta.

But the third message…

*Clementine? Baby, if you can hear this, call the police. That’s 9-1-1. We love you… we love you… We love y-*

And that’s how the message ends. Letting the silence fill the room as both children stared at the machine, as if that would eventually trigger a new message to come out and tell them it would be okay. 

James had to force himself to look away from the machine and to direct his attention to the girl whom he met just a few minutes ago. There was so much pure terror in her eyes. Neither of them could tell just in how much danger Clementine’s parents were in, or if they were even okay at that point. 

Yet despite that, the boy decided that this wasn’t the time to worry about that detail. Instead there was so much more to worry about. Getting to his father, going as far as they can where hopefully nothing bad could happen and this whole mess can just fade away.

But first…

“C...Clementine?”. James called out to the girl who jumped and turned to look at him. He can still see the fear and even the worry expressed in that child’s eyes. “Come on… We need to get ready... It’s not safe...“. 

Clementine nodded as she went to the direction of the bedroom, this time having the older child follow rather than the other way around. She held onto her hammer while James kept hold of the knife, just in case. 

They entered a large room with a strange mix of girly and boyish stuff. Purple walls decorated with a calendar and animal posters, dolls and action figures sitting next to a dollhouse, a twin bed shaped like a castle, a cute little desk for when she had to work and so much more. That kid sure was spoiled, James never thought that he could ever see a room like that.

The girl walked over to her closet and pulled out her backpack, which looked like a cute lion, fully empty from the schoolbooks it had to carry all year. 

James went to the closet and started to pull out a few clothing items from there and helped Clementine put them all in the backpack. Then he decided to look around, noticing a box with crayons in them, along with a colouring book. The boy figured that she could use those for passing the time. And hey, until this all blows over they could draw together, that sounded like a nice idea. So he stuffed the crayons and book into the bag.

Once that was done he looked at the girl again, who had been silent since hearing the messages. James felt his stomach drop a little at the sight. He hesitated for a moment before he placed a hand on Clementine’s shoulder.

“It’s going to... it’s gonna be okay…”. He said, trying to sound as confident and optimistic as he could. But it wasn’t easy. He’s a kid for crying out loud, they were both kids. James had just survived some sort of monster’s attack while Clementine’s left not knowing if she’d ever see her parents again. 

James gulped, thinking of something, anything, that could ease the situation, even for a moment. After a moment he got an idea. “Tell you what? We can… go find your parents… you, me and my dad… You can stay with us in the truck and… I-I’ll try to convince Dad to take us to Savannah…”. He told the girl, moving his hand away. “It’ll be like a road trip.”.

Clementine looked up, wide eyed, then right after she hugged the twelve year old. James’ eyes widened in shock when she did so, yet he still patted the girl’s back. His father always told him that hope went a long way, it was how the man managed to keep it together for so long. Maybe a little hope is just what the girl needed.

Soon she pulled out of the hug, timidly smiling at the boy, who smiled back in response. The preteen held his hand out. “Come on… put your bag on and we’ll go.”. He said, Clementine did exactly as told, putting her backpack over her shoulders before she took the other’s hand.

They went out of the house, still fully armed. Once outside the sound of groaning continued and James mentally cursed himself that he completely forgot about calling his father to warn of these creatures. But his father was smart and strong, he’ll be fine until they got to him, he just had to be.

Other than groans, there was the sound of people talking from behind them. James followed the sound, the younger child following close behind as they reached a gate. Two people could be seen there in what the preteen knew fully well, officers. It was relieving to see actual people there.

“Look... we can ask them for help.”. He told Clementine, giving her a reassuring smile. The girl looked through the gate at the men, then back at James before she nodded, her grip on his hand tightening slightly. 

With that, James pushed the gate open, with Clementine’s help too. They jumped momentarily when they heard a loud ‘bang’ from behind them, making them both instinctually run out of the house in a frantic panic, gripping onto each other’s hands and weapons like a lifeline.


	2. Fear

The children ran up to the police officers, who were in the middle of a conversation with each other. “H-help!” James called out, causing the adults to stop and look at them. “Help us! Please!”.

One of the officers, a tall, skinny man with raven hair jumped at the sight of the two, almost like he was ready to run. “Holy shit!”. He shouted, taking a step back. The children stopped running, just two or three steps away from the two.

“Don’t eat us!”. The other man, taller than the other but also chubbier, with brown hair replied, his eyes wide. 

James gulped, taking a step back. “We… w-we’re not gonna…”. He mumbled, unable to find the right words to say. Instead Clementine spoke for him. 

“We need to find our parents!”. Clementine explained. “Please help us!”.

The adults looked at the kids, then at each other before the skinny one crouched down, motioning them to come closer, which they did. “Are you two hurt?”. He asked in a worried tone. “You’re both covered in blood.”.

James blinked before looking at his white t-shirt with blue sleeves, which as the man had just stated, had a huge bloodstain on it. It took him a moment to realise that it was from slipping on that blood puddle. Then he looked over to Clementine, who had blood on her yellow sundress, most likely from hugging him before as he didn’t recall seeing it on her at the treehouse.

The little girl tightened her grip on James’ hand, hiding behind him. “It’s... not our blood…” The boy had to explain, gulping. “T-this… this thing attacked me… I had… had to…”.

The officer's eyes widened. "Wait, are you telling me you killed one of those things?". He asked, disbelief and concern in his voice.

James nodded. "In the house. I-I didn't want to kill it... It wouldn't stop attacking me.".

"I get it. I don't know what they are, but their dangerous.". The adult told the child. "Just... God, I'm sorry we couldn't help you... I'm Shawn by the way, Shawn Greene.".

Then the other officer knelt down to the two. “I’m Chet.”. He said, raising a hand in a wave. 

“Do you know where your parents are?”. Shawn asked. “We can take you to them.”. James thought for a moment, looking around before as he tried to remember the path back to his father’s food truck. After a little bit, he pointed to the direction he came from. “T-that way…”.

The two nodded again, standing up. “Well it’ll be safer in the car… but we need to clear the path…”. Shawn said, looking at the sea of cars which surrounded them all. “Once that’s done we can take you and your sister back to your parents.”.

James gulped, looking at his new friend before looking at the adults. “She’s… not my sister…”. He said, causing the officer to raise an eyebrow. “I found her in her treehouse… she was all alone… her parents are in Savannah so I promised to help her get back to them…”.

Shawn looked at Clementine, frowning. “I… See… I hope you can get back to them soon...”. He said, thinking for a moment before he turned to look at his friend. “Chet, go find… umm… what’s your names?”.

“James.”. The preteen replied. “And this is Clementine.”.

“Okay, go find James’ parents, lead them to my dad’s farm. They’ll be safer there than here.”. Shawn said. “I’m gonna call Andre, see if we can find more people who need help. Just- stay safe, okay?”.

Hearing those words James sighed in relief. Good, he could go back to his father soon. They’ll be much safer in the food truck anyways, that old thing was built to last. Not only that, but he and Clementine would be well fed there for hopefully as long as it’ll take for this whole mess to be finished or they get somewhere that could protect them all.

James glanced over to the younger child, she was staring back to her home with a solemn look on her face. He couldn’t blame her, being far from home was hard. The boy frowned, gently squeezing onto the girl’s hand to catch her attention. “Hey, It’s gonna be okay…”. He told her. “You won’t be alone.”.

Clementine looked up at James, taking one last look to her house before she nodded. “Can I… at least get something from there?”. She suddenly asked. 

“I thought you took everything you needed.”. James said, tilting his head. “There’s a photo of me and my parents.”. The girl replied. “I want to keep it until I see them again.”.

However, before the preteen could reply, the sudden sound of groans alerted them all that danger was near. “U-umm them monsters comin’!”. Chet said, nearly cowering in fear. James gasped, gripping onto his knife. 

He heard the raven haired officer curse under his breath before he began pushing a broken down car to clear the path. The other officer helped as well. James and Clementine looked at each other, then around them. More of those things were approaching, a large group of them this time in what could have probably been the former inhabitants of this neighbourhood.

Low on options, he released the girl’s hand and ran to the officers, pushing onto the car with as much energy his small body could use, it took barely a moment later for Clementine to do the same. After much effort, they managed to push the vehicle out, making it much easier to pass though now with their car.

“James, Clementine, get in the car!”. Shawn called out, pointing to the one he was talking about. The children quickly obeyed, nearly ripping the door open as they rushed inside. Soon Chet entered as well, going into the front seat. 

Clementine looked at the herd before looking at Shawn again. “Go to my treehouse! Those monster can’t get to you there!”. She called out. The officer nodded as he ran to the direction of the girl’s house. With that the car started, speeding through the monsters as they just narrowly escaped.

…

The next few minutes were of James trying to remember just which streets he went though, avoiding more of those things along the way. He had to be lucky about the fact that it wasn’t too far away. But this mind was muddled up with fear to be glad.

At one point one of the creatures practically jumped onto the front of the car, groaning as it tried to force itself in through the front window. Clementine was gripping onto James’ bloody shirt for comfort, while the latter had his arms wrapped around himself in an attempt to calm down. 

Chet panicked momentarily, but after a few sudden turns with the car (which ended up scaring the children even more), the creature fell off, allowing the car to go freely again. They used that chance to drive farther and faster.

Gunshots were heard and when James looked out of the window, he gasped at the sight of a truck that was all too familiar to him. It was large, white and red with a large sign that said ‘Oliver n’ sons’ on it. “T-that’s it!”. The boy called out. “That’s my dad’s truck!”.

Chet stopped the car nearby, where it didn’t seem like there were many of those creatures, before he allowed the kids out. James didn’t even take a moment to hesitate as he ran to the direction of the truck, Clementine and the officer following close behind.

There was Oliver, seen safely inside of the truck’s kitchen area, holding a rifle that he kept in case of some kind of robbery or if anything dangerous happened to either himself or James. A few monsters surrounded the truck, about four or five of them. The man shot at them on the legs, the chest, practically anywhere that he could.

Seeing his father in danger, James stopped, just a few feet away. “DAD!”. He called out, catching the truck driver’s attention in a heartbeat. The boy gulped, looking at the monsters before him. He tried to think back to what happened with Sandra, to see if that could have helped. She didn’t stop fighting when he stabbed her in the chest, and she didn’t stop when Clementine slammed that hammer onto her head. In fact, it took a stab to the head to stop her.

Some of the monsters turned their attention to the twelve year old as they started to approach. James took a step back, clutching to his knife. Clementine trembled in fear while Chet didn’t know what to do, but he still held an arm out in defense of the kids. Bullets seemed to just go through the creatures, them making no reaction to it. “Get away from my son you monsters!”. James heard his father shout before a bullet went through the monster’s skull, making it fall over, lifeless as it should have originally been.

It was a that point that James realised what they had to do. “The head!”. He called out. “Dad! Aim for their heads!”. He didn’t see his father’s response, but since next monster that approached fell over after another gunshot was heard, James knew that his father listened. 

The boy watched it fall, but then jumped when he heard a high pitched scream. He turned to find Clementine, grabbed by one of the creatures. Chet sprang into action in an instant, tacking the thing down to the ground.

“Use yer knife kid!”. The officer commanded. James hesitated for a moment, but then lunged forward, stabbing the monster in the head and making the struggle between it and Chet stop.

With that done, all those monsters were dead, but who knows when more would show up. James sure didn’t, seeing the bodies with were left, rotten, lifeless, soulless. Looking at them made him feel sick, inhaling that smell of death made him sick.

James took a step back, his thoughts racing through his head. He heard both ringing and the sound of his own heartbeat, his breathing was quick as he tried to force even the slightest amount of air into his lungs, a feat which almost seemed impossible.

For a moment, his gaze was focused only on the monsters, the rest of the world seemed to just faded out around him. His grip on the knife faltered, letting the blade he used to protect himself fall to the ground with a clunking noise that James didn’t even seem to hear. 

He felt frail, as if even the smallest touch would make him crumble to the ground. So no wonder when a hand grabbed onto his shoulder his knees nearly gave in. The boy turned in a blind panic, fearing that the monsters had come back already. 

But instead of a monster he saw his father, though at first he was blurry. James could only see the pale colour of his skin, the brown hair with white on top from his uniform hat, he also saw the bright red of the man’s uniform. Then, just a moment later, his vision cleared enough for him to know who it was and to see the pure concern in the green eyes of the man who raised him.

Needless to say the sight of his father was enough for James to completely break down.

Tears started to pour from the boy’s eyes as he basically threw himself into his father’s arms, clinging onto him as if he’d lose him if he’d ever let go. He sobbed and sobbed into the man’s shoulder as Oliver simply rubbed his son’s back.

The man sighed, allowing his son to cry on him. James didn’t see what was going on but he did hear his father speaking to Chet.

“Thank you for bringing him back…”. Oliver said, his voice soft as he knows not to startle the boy.

“Don’t just thank me, that kid’s bein’ a big help too!”. The officer responded. “Saved this little girl here before Shawn n’ I found em!”.

The two adults kept on talking as James calmed down. Eventually, once his sobbing turned to only whimpers, he just decided to tune his father and the officer’s voices out from his mind. He didn’t pay attention to anything until he heard someone call his name, when he moved his head slightly to see who called him, he saw Clementine, right next to him.

James blinked a few times, his throat sore and his mind still spinning from the day’s events. Yet he still manages to say something in a raspy voice. “Are you hurt?”. He asked, to which the girl shook her head.

“So you finally made a friend, haven’t you James?”. The boy perked up at the sound of his dad’s voice speaking to him. James nodded and the adult just hummed in response, moving his hand away from the preteen’s back and using it to wave at the little girl, who waved back. 

Then Oliver stood up, making James release his grip on the man, before the preteen just went over to the girl. “Do you know a place my son and I can stay for a bit?”. He asked, the officer nodded. “My friend Shawn asked me to take ya’ll to his dad’s farm. It’s a long ride so we better head over there before it gets dark.”.

Oliver nodded. “Okay, thank you.”. He said before looking at the children. “James, go to the truck and take your friend with you. We’re going on another road trip.”. His son nodded, grabbing onto Clementine’s wrist as he lead her into the truck in a quick pace.

…

And just like that they were back on the road, as if nothing had happened. But something did, something bad. The car Chet was using was driving just a head of them, far enough for some distance but close enough as to not lose sight of him. They were going to a farm, which seemed like a weird place to go but… they promised that it’d be safe.

James was back in the passenger’s seat, there were only two seats so Clementine was stuck sitting in the truck’s kitchen. The preteen turned to look through the window of the door that divided the car part from the kitchen and saw the poor girl all huddled up in the corner, she no longer had the bloodstains on her sundress and he was no longer dripping with blood thanks to Oliver.

“So…”. The boy jumped when the silence that hovered over them for the past few minutes was suddenly broken by his father. “Do you want to tell me what happened when you were out exploring?”

The boy gulped, sitting himself properly on the chair again before looking at his father, his green eyes were fixed on the road. “Bad things…”. He replied. Oliver nodded. “And your new friend? Who is she?”.

“Clementine.”. James responded. “Her name is Clementine… Her parents are in Savannah and… they can’t get out...”. He explained, his gaze shifting from his father to Clementine again. “She was told not to leave her treehouse… she could have starved if I didn’t help…”.

“Was there anyone there with her? Any relatives? A babysitter at least?”. Oliver asked, making his son cringe at the memory of what happened back in the house.

Taking a deep breath, the boy replied. “There was a babysitter… ‘Sandra’, I think… she… was one of those monsters…”. He said. “She attacked me while I was looking for a phone and… Clementine and I fought her off…”.

The adult nodded once more. “You’re both okay, right?”. He then questioned.

“We’re fine, at most I just hit my knee when I slipped on the babysitter’s blood…”. The twelve year old explained. 

Oliver chuckled but then frowned. “That’s not what I meant Bud.”. He said, earning a confused glance from his son. The adult sighed, but then changed the subject. “Anyways, I’m glad that you’re okay… and I’m glad that your mom wasn’t here to see what happened, do you know all the things she’d call me if she knew I left you out with those things? I wouldn’t hear the end of it for weeks, and she’s probably make me sleep out for who knows how long.”.

James chuckled a little in response of what his father said. Then he looked through the window to check on Clementine again. “Want to go talk to her?”.Oliver asked. The preteen hesitated, but nodded. “Just be careful not to fall, and if any of you are hungry, there’s some food in the mini fridge.”

The boy nodded, carefully standing up from his seat before he opened the door to the kitchen area.

Once inside of the kitchen he gently closed the door prior to turning around to see the little girl he found and rescued not too long ago. She was still in the farthest corner of the small space given to her, silent. Her lion backpack and her hammer laying right beside her.

James frowned a little, but then approached. “Hey Clementine.”. He called out, causing the girl to look at him. “How are you feeling? You’re not getting carsick, are you?”. He asked, Clementine just shook her head. 

“That’s good.”. The preteen said. “Do you want to talk for a little bit?”. He then asked, sitting down right in front of the girl. This might be a good time to get to know her a little more. Something told him that they were going to be together for a while so it was best to make them both feel a little safer around one another.

Clementine nodded a little in response. “Okay umm… how old are you?”. James inquired. “I just turned twelve, but what about you?”.

“I’m eight.”. The girl replied. The preteen nodded.

“Where did you get that hat from?”. James then asked indicating to the baseball cap on her head. “It’s my dad’s, he let me borrow it while he was gone.”. Clementine explained. “I miss my parents… I want them to come back now... ”.

“I know…”. The boy said, sighing. Then he glanced over to the mini fridge his father mentioned before coming in. “Hey Clementine, are you hungry?”. He offered, scooting over to the fridge and opening it up. There were two fridges in there, a large one for storing whatever needed to be refrigerated for the customers and a smaller one which was shared between himself and his father during long trips like this one. And now it was also Clementine’s to share for the time being.

He pulled out another sandwich and extended his arm to the girl as an offer. However Clementine just tilted her head. “Do you have any apples?”. She asked in a hesitant tone.

James blinked a few times, he held his index finger out as if to silently say ‘one sec’ before he turned back to the fridge, looking through the few shelves it had before he spotted the required red fruit. Smiling, he took it out of the fridge and handed it over to the girl.

“Thank you.”. She said as she took a bite out of the apple. 

The boy smiled, putting the sandwich back into the fridge and closing it. It was going to be dark soon and he’s rather not spoil dinner, despite the fact that he was pretty hungry as he gave his meal to Clementine back at the tree house. He didn’t mind however, she needs someone to feed and care for her and if there’s no one in her neighbourhood who can do that then… screw it, James will have to do it himself.

He looked over to Clementine once again, seeing her happy expression as she ate. “Do you like apples?”. James asked. The girl nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

“I love apples!”. She happily announced. “Their so sweet and yummy!”.

James couldn’t help but chuckle at what the eight year old said. “Well, in that case you can have all the apples you want.”. He told her, smiling. “As long as you ask me or Dad first.”.

Clementine smile widened a little. “Thank you James!”. She said. The preteen tilted his head. “For offering you the apples?”.

“No Silly!”. The eight year old replied. “Thank you for helping me, back at the tree house.”. She said. “I probably would have still been in there if it wasn’t for you.”.

The boy’s smile faltered at what she said. It was true, had it not been for him being there at the right time, who knows what could have happened. Would she had gone searching for the officers herself? Probably not, considering how long she was living in there. Looking at the state she was in before, chances are that she would never had made it.

Let’s just say that James was honestly never happier that his father had the bright idea of going on what he called a ‘America-wide food trip’ during the summer vacation. If they weren’t here by now, who knows what could have happened to the girl in front of him.

As he thought about that, the truck came to a stop, the preteen looked at the door before motioning Clementine, who was about to stand up, to stay down, which she did.

Not long after Oliver opened the door. 

“Hey kids, we’re here!”. He announced. “Come on! Don’t you want to see a farm?”.

James blinked a few times before standing up, Clementine standing up right after. He placed his backpack onto his shoulders once again. The adult smiled as he exited and, taking a deep breath, the boy went out too.


	3. First night

What James instantly saw was a large house, with a barn nearby. There was a fence which surrounded the home too. It seemed safe, just like Shawn said. He also noticed a few other people there. Others that the officers brought for safety? The owners perhaps?

Chet exited his car as well, waving. “Hey y’all!”. He called out, catching everyone’s attention.

One of the people there, a boy who seemed somewhere between James and Clementine’s age turned to see the truck and in a flash was running up to it.

“Woah! Cool truck!”. The boy, shorter compared to the dark brown haired child, extremely short brown hair, pretty large ears and freckles. He didn’t seem to really notice the three, as he was more focused on the truck that brought them here.

Then another stranger approached, older, probably the boy’s father? He was tall, with dark gray hair and a large mustache. Not like the ones in cartoons, but it was still rather big. He didn’t seem all that bad, but that didn’t stop James from feeling a little nervous of the new people.

The boy noticed the man and ran up to him. “Dad! Look at this truck!” He happily shouted. So James was right in assuming that was the kid’s father. The grey haired adult just chuckled, patting his son’s head. 

“I see it Duck…”. He replied, before looking at the three newcomers. “Are you guys spending the night here too?”.

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, we had a run in with these freaks a few hours ago. God, it was a mess… They almost got to the kids here.”. He said, indicating to his child and the eight year old. “I let my son out of my sight for a few minutes and all hell breaks loose…”.

The stranger looked at the children. Clementine was hiding behind the preteen, timidly peeking through the boy’s shoulder. The man frowned, but nodded.

“We… saw one of those things too… almost grabbed Duck…”. He explained. “The name’s Ken, by the way. You can call me Kenny. My boy’s Ken jr, but we call him Duck.”.

“Oliver.”. James’ father replied. “And these two are James and Clementine.”. He said, again pointing to the children. “They’ve… had a lot happen today... “.

Kenny knelt down to the children’s height, his frown shifting into a small smile. “Don’t worry you two, those monsters are miles away, they won’t get you here.”. He reassured, before looking at Oliver once again. “You should go tell Hershel that your here. He’s talking to my wife right now.”.

The brown haired man nodded in response. Kenny pointed to where two people were standing. A woman with short blond hair and a man who’s haircolor had faded. Oliver muttered a thank you before he and Chet started walking over to them. Gulping, James decided to follow, the eight year old not too far behind. 

“Hey Hershel!”. Chet spoke up, breaking apart the conversation the woman and the man were having about sleeping arrangements. “Found some more people in need back in town.”.

Hershel looked at the officer, then looked around, a concerned look on his face. “Where’s Shawn?”. He asked. “Weren’t you two supposed to stay together?”

“He’s out looking for more survivors.”. The officer replied. “Told me he’d call Andre for back up.”

The older man nodded, before looking at Oliver and the children. “I’m not a fan of letting so many people in for the night… We don’t have many places for you to stay other than the barn.”.

Oliver smiled. “No worries, We can stay in the truck in you want, it’s not big deal for us. We’re not planning on staying long.”.

“I’m not planning on letting you stay longer than a night.”. Hershel told him, before looking at James and Clementine. “But you have kids with you and they don’t seem in all that good shape… I can’t leave people like that out…”

“I’ll make it up to you.”. James’ father chimed in. “I run a food truck, if you haven’t eaten already, I’ll be glad to make something for you.”.

Hershel’s eyes widened a little. “You don’t need to do that.”. He said. 

“I insist.”. Oliver replied. “Besides, I know that the kids are hungry. And it’s not everyday you eat food made from a truck.”.

The woman who was watching the conversation smiled. “I think that’s a great idea, we should all get something to eat after all.”. She said. “And I’m sure Duck would love whatever you’ll make.”.

“Well he seems pretty interested in the truck already.”. The adult said. “Oh, I’m Oliver, and these two are James and Clementine.”.

The lady hummed happily, waving to the children. “I’m Katjaa.”. She said. James and Clementine just remained silent, the little girl huddling closer to the preteen.

Oliver sighed, kneeling down in front of the children. “Okay, I’m gonna go make us all dinner. James, why don’t you and Clem stay here? Try to make friends with Duck?”. He asked. James opened his mouth, but closed it right after. “Come on Bucko, I’ll be right at the truck if you need me.”.

James glanced to the other adults for a moment, then he looked at a eight year old who was just as nervous as he was. “Can… Can I help you Dad?”. He asked, mumbling. “With cooking?”.

His father frowned and sighed, but then nodded. “Okay James.”. He said as he stood up. “I get it, you’ve been through a lot today, you and Clem both. Come on, let’s head to the truck. Katjaa, Hershel, we’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”. He told the two other adults.

 

“Can I help too?”. Clementine suddenly asked and James could tell that she wasn’t exactly in the mood to be left alone. She was already surrounded by so many strangers and out of all of them she only knew one the most. And that was James himself.

Oliver looked at the eight year old and smiled. “Well the more help the better.” The adult replied, lightly tapping on the girl’s hat. “What do you think James? Should we let your new friend cook with us?”. He asked his son, who nodded. “Alright, it’s settled then. Truck Prince, Clem, the kitchen awaits.”

Clementine tilted head head. “Truck prince?”.

“It’s a nickname Dad gives me when I’m helping him out.”. The preteen explained. “He calls himself ‘The king of the truck’, so it fits.”.

The eight year old giggled in response. “You’re dad’s really funny.”. She said, a wide smile on her face as her nervousness to the new people soon faded into a lost memory. James couldn’t help but smile and nod.

“I’mma stay for a lil longer to wait for Shawn.”. Chet said. “But I’ve gotta head on home, mama’s gonna be in a snit.”.

The boy’s father nodded. “Don’t make her worry too much.”. He said before he started walking to the truck, signaling for the children to follow, which they did.

…

By the time they had finished cooking enough for everyone, the sun had fully setted. Duck was running around at an impressive speed, telling literally each and every person at the farm about the fact that dinner was ready. It didn’t take long for everyone to come to the truck.

Oliver looked at everyone and smiled, before putting a bit of food into two boxes, wrapping them up and handing them over to Clem and James. “Here you two. You helped so you both get first servings of the night.”. He told them.

The children both took the food boxes, then looked at each other and smiled. “Thanks Dad.”. James said.

“Thank you Oliver.”. Clementine spoke up, seemingly eager to eat again.

The adult nodded, ruffling his son’s hair despite the child’s protests and Clementine’s giggling. Before Duck started shouting. “I want dinner!”. From outside the truck. Oliver chuckled as he once again placed some food in a box, wrapped it and handed it to the boy.

Kenny smiled. “Thanks for the dinner.”. He said. His wife was about to get her wallet but instead the food trucker stopped her.

“No need.”. Oliver said, smiling. “It’s on the house. Well, more on the truck but, you know what I mean.”.

“Well, we’ve gotta pay you back someway.”. The man said. 

The brown haired man shook his head. “We’ve all been through a lot today, the kids especially. I’ve still got plenty left, so it’s nothing to worry about.”.

Kenny nodded. “How about when this whole thing blows over I get you some fish? I’m a commercial fisherman after all, you could use that.”.

Oliver thought for a moment before he nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”.

The owner of the farm looked at James’ father. “ That reminds me... Oliver, do you mind if we talk in private for a few minutes?”. He asked. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, based on what Chet told me. It’s about the kids.”.

The brown haired adult blinked a few times, looking at the elder man. “Oh, sure. You can ask whatever you want.”. He replied, quickly handing out meals for the married couple before he exited the truck. Hershel nodded before he began making his way to his house, Oliver and Chet coming with him.

James watched his father leave, still holding onto his food box. He looked around to try and find a place to eat, before he decided that the hay bales next to the house were a good option. So the preteen walked out of the truck, walked to the bales and sat on one of them. 

Pretty soon he unwrapped his father’s dinner and he started to eargerly eat up. James looked around as he ate, seeing the other family along with the girl who tagged along with him and his father, all eating and chatting with each other. Well, one of these two was braver to talk to strangers than the other and it clearly wasn’t the him.

As he ate, he noticed a new car driving by, the red and blue unlit lights on the top made it fairly obvious that it was a police car. Was it Shawn? The preteen looked closely and indeed the raven haired officer stepped out, right before another figure came out as well, one he hasn’t seen before.

“Shawn!”. James called out, placing his unfinished dinner down before going up to the police officer. “You’re okay!”.

Shawn looked over to the child and smiled. “Yeah, I’m not going out that easy.”. He said. “Besides, I had some help.”.

The officer indicated to the man next to him, a large, strong looking man with dark skin,raven hair and a short beard. He was standing a little weird and James soon noticed a gruesome looking wound on his leg which probably explained it.

“This man came along a little after you two and Chet left.”. Shawn explained. “Man, was he a life saver. I probably wouldn’t have lasted all that long if it weren’t for him.”.

“What happened to his leg?”. James jumped when he heard Katjaa’s voice as she and her husband walked up to them. 

The new stranger looked at everyone around him. “Car accident.”. He replied. “The man driving hit one of those things out there, we crashed in the forest and next thing I know he turned into one of THEM and my leg was fucked.”.

James eyes widened slightly at what the man said. “H-hey, you can’t swear. There’s kids around!”. He told the man who was much bigger than him. The man looked to the preteen, then at the other kids before he nodded, mouthing an apology.

“You too then? Those things are everywhere today.”. Kenny said. 

His wife moved closer to the stranger. “You should sit down.”. She told him.

“Have him sit on the bench. I’ll go tell dad that I’m back, and that we need bandages.”. Shawn told the stranger. “Then I’ll see if I can find a spare sleeping bag for you.”. The man nodded, he and Katjaa already walking to the direction of the house where there was a single bench.

It was at that point that Clementine approached. “Who was that James?”. She asked. The boy turned to face the eight year and shrugged.

“Lee, his name’s Lee.”. The officer explained to the children. “He was on his way out of town, didn’t tell me why though…”. 

Then he knelt down to their heights. “How was your trip here? Did your father and Chet come here in one piece?”. He asked.

“It was fine, getting back to the truck was scary though…”. The preteen explained, shivering a little at the thought of what happened. “But… we’re all okay.”.

Shawn nodded, before he reached into his pocket, pulling a picture frame out. “Your friend here wanted this, didn't she?”. He asked, handing the picture to the boy. It has the eight year old, along with a man and a woman. Those must have been Clem’s parents!

Without hesitating the preteen gave the picture back to its original owner, who at the sight of it smiled so happily. “Thank you.”. She told the officer.

“Thank Lee.”. Shawn replied, before standing up. “He found it.”. And with that, he went into the large house.

Clementine nodded, grabbing onto James’ wrist before she started to lead the boy to the direction of the house. James just followed, he left his dinner there and he needed to finish it after all.

Once at the house, the eight year old released her grip on the boy so he went back to the hay bale and picked his dinner up. He looked to see Lee and Katjaa on the porch, both talking to one another. The little girl started to make her way up the steps, and James went up as well to make sure everything was okay.

“Umm, hello?”. Clementine called out, catching the attention of the two adults. 

The woman smiled. “Hello honey, is something wrong?”. She asked in a tender, motherly voice.

The eight year old shook her head. “I wanted to say something to Lee.”. She explained. Katjaa nodded, moving a little to make room as Clementine went up to the stranger, who had a confused look on his face. 

“Thank you… for getting my picture back.”. The girl said, timidly smiling. The adult blinked a few times before he smiled. 

“It’s nothing… I wouldn’t have even known it was important if Shawn didn’t point it out.”. Lee replied. “But I’m glad you’re happy.”.

Clementine smiled before going back to James, who was finishing up his dinner. “I have my picture back!”. She happily announced. The preteen nodded, smiling as well for the little girl’s happiness. 

Soon James finished his meal and tossed the box into a nearby trash can, about that same time Kenny, who was holding a now tired Duck in his arms, came over. “Hey Kat, Duck and are gonna hit the hay. You comin’?”. He asked, to which his wife smiled and nodded.

“Goodnight you two.”. She told the children before she walked to her husband and child as they all headed into the barn for the night. 

“So, where are you two from?”. Lee suddenly asked, catching the attention of the two children. 

James was the one to responded. “I’m from Washington, the City.” He said. “And Clementine lives here in Georgia, just a few hours away honestly.”. 

Lee nodded, a frown on his face. “And your parents? Where are they now?”.

“My Dad0s talking to the owner.”. The preteen explained before he frowned as well. “Clementine's… well… their away… So Dad and I are taking care of her.”.

“So your father’s the babysitter?”. The man asked, to which James had to shake his head.

“We just met her today.”. The boy told him. “I found her in her treehouse… Alone and hungry...”. The adult nodded, a concerned look on his face as he watched the eight year old. 

Then he looked back at James. “Take good care of her then. I don’t have any children myself but I know that she’ll need as much help she can get.”.

“We will, I promise.”. The preteen replied with a smile on his face. “And we’ll do all we can to find her parents.”.

The adult seemed relieved to hear that from him, as he showed a small, yet kind smile. “That’s good to hear.”. He told them. “I’ll be counting on you getting her back to her family. And stay close to your dad, times like these kids shouldn’t be alone.”.

James nodded, about to say something before the door opened, revealing Oliver and Hershel. His father smiled at the sight of his son, ruffling his hair once more. “Was dinner good?”.

“It was great!”. Clementine replied. “I never knew you could cook in a truck.”.

“That’s what food trucks are for Clem.”. Oliver replied, smirking. “There great for meals on-the-go and you can drive around in it. What’s there not to like?”.

Both children giggled before the youngest had let out a yawn. “Well, it’s getting late, we should all go to bed.”. Oliver told the two. James opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off. “No Bud, you stayed up late last night. And today was a mess for everyone. You are going to bed.”.

The preteen huffed, crossing his arms. “Okay…”. He muttered, earning a warm smile from his father. “Are we gonna sleep in the truck or the barn?”. He then asked.

“Truck.”. The adult said without a moment’s thought. “Barn’s gonna be full anyways. Besides, you don’t know what lives there. We know the truck like the back of our hands.”. Then he looked over to Clementine. “Hey James, think you can lend Clem your sleeping bag for the night? You can take mine.”.

James looked at this father and nodded. “Well that’s settled…”. Oliver mumbled before looking at Hershel. “We’ll be off in the morning, don’t worry about it.”. He said waving to the elder before he and the children made their way to the truck.

“Hey Dad?”. The boy asked, looking up to his father. “What did Hershel ask you before?”.

Oliver simply shrugged. “Simple things, where we were from, what we were gonna do now, wondering if we were going to take care of Clementine or not.”.

The preteen nodded, looking at the sleepy eight year old. “What did you answer?”.

“I’ll tell you the plan in the morning.”. The adult said as he reached the truck, opening it and moving aside so the children can enter. “You know where the bags are, good night Bucko.”.

“Night Dad…”. James muttered, climbing into the truck and going straight to the kitchen where he pulled out the two sleeping bags they used on long trips where there was no hotel to stay in. He rolled both sleeping bags out and looked over to the girl at the door. “It’s not much but it’s what we’ve got.”. He told her.

The girl nodded as she went to the smaller of the sleeping bags and sat down, looking at the picture that was just given to her. The preteen looked at her, frowning.

“Hey Clem?”. He called out, catching the eight year old’s attentions. “Is everything okay?”.

Clementine frowned, looking away for a moment. “How far is Savannah…?”. She asked in a meek tone.

James gulped, trying to think of an answer. “I don’t know… pretty far?”. He responded. “Dad has a map, we can borrow it tomorrow and check if you want.”.

“Mom sounded really scared when she tried to call…”. The eight year old spoke up, nearly gripping on the picture of her parents. The preteen had to nod, remembering the messages they heard back at the house. There was so much fear and pain in the woman’s voice, along with the last words she said, ‘We love you’, directed to Clementine herself.

The boy moved closer, sitting down right in front of his new friend. Even in the darkness what was consuming the small space they were in, James could notice the tears in the poor girl’s eyes. She was alone, even if she was now surrounded by friendly faces she was left with no one who she can consider family. But she had James, she had his father. 

And just like he promised back at the house he was going to reunite her with her family. No matter what it took.

“You should try to get some sleep.”. James told her. “You’ll need it, especially since tomorrow’s gonna probably be just as hard as today was…”. 

The girl look at him, then back at the picture. After a few seconds she nodded. The preteen smiled, carefully taking her hat and the picture and setting them on a nearby counter. With that he laid himself onto his father’s sleeping bag while Clementine laid down on his.

James glanced at the girl once more. “We’ll find your parents…”. He spoke up, before closing his eyes as the exhaustion of today finally caught up to him. “I promise…”.


	4. Going home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay here's where the au really starts to shift. I would have added chapter 5 right now too but I got a field trip tomorrow and I'll be gone for a few days, so I'm gonna post this now and the next chapter after I get back home.

Morning came too early for the twelve year old.

He sat up, still groggy from yesterday’s events. The light of the sun shone through the window of the truck, illuminating the area. It was probably about 9 or 10? Hard to tell without a watch.

James looked around, quickly noticing the empty sleeping bag next to him and taking a moment to remember what had happened the day before, the little girl he found and the fact that they were in a farm. The boy sighed as he stood, rubbing his tired eyes. He would have loved to sleep in for longer, but he needed to get answers from his father first.

So with a bit of a struggle, he went out of the truck, shielding his eyes from the light that shone directly into his brown eyes. Everything looked almost the same as when they first came in last night. He saw Duck and Shawn walking together, Lee talking to Kenny and Katjaa together with Clementine. He also noticed his father at the porch right by the girls, talking to Hershel. Looks like he was the last one up.

The preteen thought for a moment, before he started making his way to the house. Oliver noticed pretty quickly and waved over to his son. James smiled a little as he got close. “Morning Dad.”. He said. 

“Hi James!”. Clementine chimed in before his father could say anything. She was waving to the boy, a wide smile on her face. 

James smiled as he waved to the little girl while Oliver just chuckled. “How’s everything doing Buddy?” The adult asked his son.

“I’m fine Dad.”. The preteen replied as he walked up the porch stairs. Oliver smirked, ruffling his son’s hair. James giggled in response, attempting to step away. “Daaad! Come on! You’re gonna mess my hair!”.

Oliver let out a laugh. “Okay okay.”. He said, moving his hand back. “So, do you need anything?”.

The preteen nodded. “You said you’d talk to me, about what we’re gonna do.”. He reminded his father. The adult’s expression chanced rather quickly, something James noticed on the spot. 

His father rubbed the back of his head, looking at Hershel before glancing at the only two females there. “Right, umm… let’s talk in private.”. Oliver said. “In the barn? I’ll tell you everything there.”.

At the response, James tilted his head slightly, wondering why his dad didn’t want to talk out there. No one was going to judge him about this, right? It was just to talk about what they were gonna do. But James had to try and convince his father into going to Savannah so he just nodded.

Oliver smiled again, before looking at Katjaa and Clementine. “Hey Katjaa, I’m gonna be gone for a bit, keep an eye on Clem for me, okay?”. He asked, to which the kind woman nodded, a warm smile on her face.

“She’ll be safe with me.”. Katjaa told him. 

With that done the food trucker went down the steps and to the direction of the barn, leaving James to follow with no hesitation.

Once they were inside Oliver let out a sigh, waking to the stacks of hay and sitting down on one. His son walked over and sat right next to him. “So, what’s the plan?”. James asked.

His father pulled something out of his pocket, a map. He was about to open it but stopped, looking directly at the dark brown haired boy. “Before we start talking about this… there’s something I want you to know.”.

“When you were out before… I tried calling your mom. But no one answered.”. He began, catching the boy’s attention in a heartbeat. “When that didn’t work I tried calling your grandparents, then your aunt… then I tried calling Charlie’s family. Still nothing.”.

James gulped, his hands subconsciously gripping onto the hay. “You tried again right?”. He asked. “Maybe there wasn’t a signal back there?”.

Oliver frowned. “I kept on trying, and when we got here I tried again. Didn’t work.”. The man explained. “Hershel even let me use his phone to see if that would help, no such luck…”.

“W-well maybe their phone’s were off?”. The preteen suggested, panic in his tone. He recalled something about Diana’s messages, how it got so hard for her to be able to call. His father wasn’t suggesting what James thought he was suggesting… was he? That those monsters are in Washington too? That his whole family could be in danger? That Charlie could be in danger!?

A hand was placed on James’ shoulder and he looked up to see his father’s sadded face. “I… can’t say for sure what’s happening over there… but I think that it’s best if we head back as soon as we can.”. Oliver said.

With that, he moved his hand away and opened the map. “The fastest route back home is gonna take us nearly a whole day, and that’s just if we don’t run out of gas or go on any bathroom breaks. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to be back by midnight.”.

James nodded at the plan, his attention focused solely on the map, seeing just how far away Washington really was from where they were now. Yikes, no wonder it took so long to get here in the first place. His gaze momentarily wandered to Savannah, where Clementine’s parents would be and he was reminded of the promise he made to the girl. 

“Hey Dad… what about Clementine?”. The boy asked. “Her parents are in Savannah, if we don’t go looking for them she won’t have anyone to take care of her.”.

“Well, there’s two options James.”. Oliver spoke, closing the map. “Either we let that nice family take care of her. I spoke to the father, their not planning on going far. Or… we let her come with us, she seems to trust you after all.”.

The boy looked down. He wanted to help Clementine find her parents again, he really did… but at the same time everyone he cares for could be in danger. Maybe going back home would be a good idea. “Can I ask her if she wants to come on not?”. He asked, to which his father nodded.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.”. Oliver said, patting his son’s head before he stood up. “I need to make sure everything’s set outside.”. James nodded in response, jumping off the the hay bale before he exited the barn. 

He noticed Shawn and Duck at the fence, Shawn hammering away and Duck sitting on the tractor, pretending to drive it. Lee was there now too, with a saw in hand as he cut some wood. The officer turned his head to look at the twelve year old, and then nodded before the short haired boy started yapping at him to keep working. Curious, he went to see what was going on.

“Umm… Good morning?”. James greeted. “What are you doing?”.

The other boy instantly chimed in. “We’re building a fence!”. He happily announced. 

“Do you want to help?”. The officer asked. “You and Duck can keep watch.”.

James shook his head. “No, Dad and I are leaving soon… maybe Clementine’s gonna come too but she might go with Duck’s family.”. He explained. “I think that we might have another hammer back in the truck if you need it.”.

“No thanks.”. Shawn replied. “Just be careful out there, we’ve been seeing those things all over the place.”.

The preteen nodded before looking at Duck. “Hey, you’re fine with Clementine coming with you, right?”. He had to ask. The boy looked over and grinned. “Sure!”.

“I don’t know…”. Lee suddenly spoke up. “We’re gonna be a lot of people as it is.”.

“We’re going to Washington, and Clementine’s parents are in Savannah… Dad wants us to go back as soon as possible. We won’t be able to get to them...”. James explained to the man. “I want to help her find them again… but we can’t… I’m gonna ask if she wants to come with us or not but if she says no then you’ll have to take her.”.

Lee nodded. “Alright, if she comes with us I’ll keep an eye on her for you. She won’t be in danger with me around to protect her.”.

James nodded with a smile. “Thanks. I’ll go talk to her now.”. He said, turning away and going back to the direction of the house, where Katjaa and Clementine were still on those hay bales, talking about girly things.

“Hey Clementine.”. The preteen called out, making both of the females look at him. “Can I talk to you for a second?”. He asked.

The eight year old nodded rather quickly. James smiled a little, but then frowned, going to the bale and sitting next to her. “Did Oliver tell you something important?”. Clementine asked.

James nodded. “Yeah, he did…”. He replied, looking away from the girl. “We talked and… We’re going back to Washington. Him and me.”. The boy said, turning back to see Clementine’s shocked expression.

“B-but… but what about my parents?”. She asked, her eyebrows furrowing. “You said that you’d help me find them!”.

“I know I did. But I have a family too… and someone I really care for... Dad wants us to go back to them.”. The preteen explained. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to… you can stay with Katjaa’s family, they're not even going far and Lee said that he’d help look after you.”.

Clementine looked into the direction Lee was previously in, her frown growing. “I...I don’t know…”. She said, her voice sounding so nervous. 

“Well… you don’t have that long to choose.”. James told her. “When Dad gets here we’ll be leaving. I know this is gonna be a hard thing to choose but you have to.”.

“I really don’t know…”. Clementine replied as she looked out to see the others again. “It’s… really scary…”. She admitted. “I don’t want to be alone…”.

“It’s alright Clementine, you won’t be alone.”. Katjaa suddenly spoke up. “You’ll have someone with you no matter who you choose to go with.”.

The girl nodded before she looked down, lost in thought. “I think…”. She spoke up after a minute. “I think I wanna…”.

And then there was a scream. A loud, blood curdling scream that echoed through the whole farm. 

James jumped off the hay bale, eyes widening. “W-what was that!?”. He asked. Katjaa stood up as well, looking around.

“That sounded like Shawn!”. Clementine called out. 

It didn’t take more than a few minutes for another scream to be heard, a younger voice, filled with more panic than fear.

Katjaa gasped at the sound. “Oh my God, DUCK!”. She shouted as she started running to the source. The two children watched she run before they followed as well.

Halfway there they saw Kenny running to them, Duck in his arms. At the sight, the woman rushed to him, taking hold of the child. Meanwhile screams continued to echo. Along with the sound of groaning…

Oh no…

“Kenny, what happened?!”. Katjaa asked, holding her shaking son closer to her.

“Those fuckers are here now!”. The man explained, panting. “They tried to get Duck, but I got him. Shawn’s leg’s stuck. Lee and Oliver are trying to help him out.”.

Then Kenny took one glance at the kids before looking to his wife again. “We gotta get the kids in the van or the truck. I don’t know- just someplace where those things won’t get ‘em!”.

Katjaa nodded before she looked at Clementine and James. “Come with me you two.”. She told them. “It’s not safe here anymore.”.

“W-wait! I need to get my Dad first!”. James protested, taking a step back. 

“Look kid, your dad’s gonna be fine. He’s just out there helping Shawn.”. Kenny said. “Just get yourself and Clementine into the-”. Before he could finish the preteen basically sprinted to the direction of the screams, hearing a loud ‘HEY’ from Kenny and a less loud ‘James’ from Clementine.

Once he reached the area, the place nearby the fence where Shawn and Duck were previously working. The officer’s leg was pinned under the tractor, Lee tried to pull him out while James’ father was making a futile attempt to push the vehicle away. Monsters were there, many, trying to get into the farm and attack.

And just as he noticed that, the fence crumbled. Oliver and Lee moved back out of the shock as those creatures piled onto the officer, their teeth sinking into his flesh and causing louder screams to erupt.

James’ hands moved to cover his mouth as he stared. Blood started pouring out of the man’s body, his skin being ripped apart and devoured alive by the monsters. Like how an predator would tear into the flesh of prey. Violent and Gruesome.

He heard whimpers from behind him, then gunshots as those things fell to the ground one after the other, finally saving Shawn from a scary fate. And he was still breathing too! Maybe he’d be fine!

Hershel ran past him, straight to the direction of the officer, keeling down once he was close enough. James couldn’t hear the conversation but he just hoped everything was would be fine now.

With a sigh of relief, James turned around, only to pause when he noticed Clementine, her eyes wide with horrors as more whimpers escaped her quivering lips. The boy gulped at the sight, not knowing what he could or should do.

“Clementine?”. He called out in a whisper, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “We should go hide in the truck…”. Katjaa was right, it wasn’t safe here now either. 

The girl looked up at him, before hesitantly nodding. With a small smile, he quietly led Clementine back into the truck, just barely missing out of the argument that was about to ensue back there.

…

Clementine and James waited in there, silent, neither truly able to comprehend what they just saw. Yesterday they just saw the monsters, not what they were capable of, this time they saw something that would only happen on the horror movies the boy honestly loved. But this was real life.

The preteen sighed, glancing over to his backpack. Without thinking he reached for it, unzipping it and pulled out his scrapbook. The girl noticed, but said nothing. Instead she curiously moved a little closer to him.

James opened the book up, having two large pages with many pictures and writings on it be spreaded before him. There were pictures of him and his parents, along with Charlie and his family and many more people. 

“Who’s that?”. Clementine curiously asked as she looked at the pictures.

“Oh, their my family… and close friends.”. The boy explained, pointing to a picture of him at his 7th birthday, his mother and father behind him. “That woman there’s my mom. She’s a little overprotective of me, to the point where she made Dad sleep outside in the pouring rain because I ran off one, I just got grounded. Dad was sneezing for weeks.”.

Upon answering James heard a giggle come from the eight year old. Maybe this could take her mind off what they had just witnessed? Worth a shot. The preteen moved his finger to another picture, this time of him and another woman.

“That’s my Aunt, she’s probably the worst driver in the whole universe.”. The boy explained. “One time Dad let her use the food truck, she lost the kitchen.”. He said with a chuckle. Okay, it didn’t happen like that exactly but hey, it was funny, and they did need to buy a whole new truck thanks to his aunt.

Clementine giggled more, covering her mouth with her hands to suppress the noise. Then she looked at the pictures again before she pointed to one. Of him and a boy who looked just about his age. “Is that your friend?”.

James gulped, a bit of warmth growing on his cheeks. “U-umm…”. He stuttered, looking at the picture, then at the girl again. “That’s Charlie he… he’s actually my boyfriend…”. He admitted, gulping again.

The eight year old looked at him with wide eyes before she pouted, crossing her small arms. “No fair!”. She protested. “My Dad said that I can’t have one until I’m twenty. Why do you have a boyfriend already?”.

The boy blinked a few times. “Well… my Dad said it was okay?”. He told her as he flipped though his book. “Besides, we haven’t really been together for that long. Just a few months.”.

The girl huffed in response, but decided to continue to peer into the book, curiously looking at all the pictures that were there, and even of the drawings. James decided to explain to her where the pictures were from and of that one time he accidentally took a picture of an old woman’s hair because there was a bird on it and he was chased all over the park. That one got a good laugh out of the girl.

During their conversation, the door opened. Both children looked to see Oliver, who seemed slightly angered for some reason. Once he saw the two though he looked relieved. “Oh thank God you’re here…”.

“Is Shawn okay?”. Clementine immediately asked. “Those monsters tried to eat him.”.

Oliver’s expression changed, he looked down, sighing. “Shawn… Shawn is dead…”.

James’ eyes widened. “W-what…?”. He asked. “But Hershel saved him, didn’t he?”.

“He did.. Shawn just lost a lot of blood when he got attacked…”. His father explained. “I tried to help, that tractor wouldn’t budge… and Kenny didn’t even try to help us out.”.

The preteen gulped, looking at his father before looking at an upset Clementine. “But Shawn was nice to us…”. The girl said, her lip quivering.

The adult sighed again. “Hershel kicked us out, so we have to leave right now… that okay with you two?”. He asked them, though it didn’t matter what the answer was.

“And the other family?”. James asked, remembering that the girl never answered if she wanted to go with them or not. 

“Already left…”. Oliver said before turning to look at Clementine. “So it looks like she’s staying with us for a while. Whether she likes it or not”.

The boy turned his attention back to the girl and noticed that she didn’t seem all too upset about them being gone. Did that mean she wanted to go with them? Or was she just accepting it as it was the only option?

As there were no vocal complaints James’ father took it as an ‘okay’. “Alright, in that case we should get going.”. He said. “It’s gonna be a long ride, so make sure to tell me if you need anything whenever.”.

James nodded before he stood up. “I’m ready.”. He said, eager to get back home where he hoped his mother and Charlie would be there, waiting. With a smile, Oliver exited the kitchen to start the car. The boy was about to go too, when something came to mind.

“Clementine? Do you still have your walkie?”. He asked the girl. “You know, the one you had when you were at the tree house?”. 

Clementine nodded in response, digging through her lion backpack and pulled out the gadget. 

James went to his bag and took the walkie he grabbed from the kitchen, smiling. “Great, I got the other one.”. The boy said. “I’m gonna go to the front with Dad, if you need anything or want to talk to us use this okay?”.

The girl looked at the walkie before she nodded, a small smile on her face. They could feel the car’s engine starting up from beneath them, signalling that they were about to start their long journey back to Washington. With a wave James went out of the kitchen, to join his father in the front seats.


End file.
